A/N: I just felt like one chapter wasn't enough so I did a second one! I hope you guys are still liking the story! Please fave, review, and follow! :)
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It was a random decision to go to the Smithsonian. Katherine walked through Steve's exhibit, pulling the man slightly as they walked around. The man held onto her hand tightly as they walked. The narrating voice explained Steve's story to the people as they walked through, looking at everything. Steve stopped to watch some parents and kids as they stood next to the picture of him before the serum and after. The woman smiled watching the families while leaning in closer to Steve. She knew that Steve wants a family. She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know. She sees the way he looks at babies. She may want a family someday too. She wasn't quite sure yet, not with S.H.I.E.L.D still so vividly in the picture. The man smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to the top of her head before turning back to the families. A boy was looking at Steve in shock; he knew exactly who he was. Steve smiled, pulling his free hand out of his pocket to raise a finger to his lips. The boy nodded slowly. Katherine chuckled softly before pulling Steve along. They walked through every part of the exhibit, from Steve's original motorcycle to a large photo of Steve and his Howling Commandos. Turning around, it opened up to Bucky Barnes' part of the exhibit.
"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country." The narration said when the pair of heroes got closer. Steve watched the video play below Bucky's picture and life story. She glanced up at him before leaning into his side again, lifting her free hand to rub it against the forearm of the hand she was holding. She never had the chance to meet Bucky but Steve had said once before how much he wished they could have met. He said that Bucky would have loved her. Steve turned to the woman, offering her a small smile before pressing a kiss to her temple.
"Come on." He said quietly (as quiet as he could in the loud and crowded Smithsonian so that she could hear him) as he lead her towards the small theater area. Peggy Carter was on the screen, talking.
"That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve, Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned down our allies for months. He saved over 1,000 men. Including the man who would… Who would become my husband as it turned out." Steve opened the old compass he carried during World War II and inside the top was a picture of Peggy. Katherine watched him, she knew that Steve had loved and probably still loved Peggy. You never forget your first love. A part of Katherine knew that Steve was with her now and that he was dedicated to her but she couldn't help the small sliver of jealousy she felt. She very subtly, pulled her arm away from Steve, turning back to the video when the man turned to her. "Even after he died, Steve was still changing my life."
XXX
They walked out of the museum when they had walked through the rest of the exhibit, the rest of the walk through had been noticeably more quite with less and less touching between the couple. The man almost seemed in a daze as he got on his bike, waiting for Katherine. She stopped and wrapped her arms around herself. Steve blinked a few times before looking at her worriedly. "You alright?" He asked, about to get off the bike. She nodded her head, holding her hand up to stop him from standing.
"Yeah, it's getting late. I think I'm just gonna head back to New York, I got a four hour drive." She said, offering him what she hoped was a convincing smile.
"Well, get on. I'll drive you." Steve said, sitting down and putting up the kickstand before getting ready to kick-start the bike. The woman shook her head.
"No, you have something that you need to do. I'll just take a cab." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you sure?" He asked, trying to figure out when their day had gone wrong, as far as he could remember, everything was fine. The woman could see him trying.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry about me." She kissed his cheek and Steve knew something was wrong. She began walking down the street.
"I love you." Steve said to her. She turned to him, giving him a half-hearted smile.
"You too." She said before hailing a taxi. Steve watched as she gave him one more small smile before getting in the taxi and headed back to Xavier's school. Once in the taxi, she knew she was being stupid. She knew that she should probably stop the driver and get back out and ride with Steve but that stupid pride of hers wouldn't let her. She was jealous of Peggy, a woman who had moved on from Steve 70 years ago. She was mad at Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D for their stupid missions and poor excuse of freedom. She was pissed at herself, for… well, she wasn't sure but she was. She rubbed her eyes before sighing.
"Everything alright, ma'am?" The taxi driver asked, looking in his rearview mirror at her.
"I'm okay. Thank you for asking." She offered the man a small smile before he turned the radio on to Today's Top 40 as they drove four hours to New York.
XXX
Katherine made it home, paying the driver what she owed him, along with a good tip because he'd driven so far and spent the rest of the day just hanging out (sulking but she wouldn't tell you that). "Alright, what's wrong?" Logan said when he came into the living room with a beer. She looked up at him surprised.
"Nothing is wrong…" She said and the man rolled his eyes before sitting down beside his sister and handing her bottle.
"I know you Kathy and I know when something is wrong. So what is it?" He asked again and she sighed, leaning back into the couch cushions.
"It's stupid." She said, taking a sip and swirling the liquid around the amber bottle. Logan raised an eyebrow at her. "You know how when Steve first became Captain America and he was working with the first S.H.I.E.L.D? He met a woman named Peggy Carter and I guess they had feelings for each other. Well… I guess Steve still has feelings for her because he keeps a picture of her in the old compass that he used. I guess…" Her voice faded.
"You got jealous?" He answered and she looked up at him before looking back at her bottle. "Don't worry, I did it too. Remember Stretch and Jean?" She nodded her head. "I know exactly how you feel…"
"How?" She asked her brother. "How would you know? You weren't dating Jean after she'd been frozen for 70 years and then thawed. She didn't love a man before you who was able to grow old and sort of move on with his own family. You don't know what I'm going through Logan." She said, glaring at her little brother before looking down to glare at the bottle. The man raised an eyebrow at her, taking a sip of his drink.
"Well, I do know one thing." He said, setting his bottle on the table before turning to his sister again. "Steve wouldn't have moved here and been with you for two years if there wasn't something there between the two of you." Logan said to her, leaning down slightly so that she would look at him. "He loves you. He may love Peggy but Peggy moved on and Steve knows he has to as well. You're the one he chose. You understand him better than all of the people in this world could hope to and the same for him with you. He has become John's father; who else can you say would have done that." She nodded her head and sighing. Logan was right, on all the accounts (more so being John's father, not many man were cut out for that job).
"I know. I guess everything is just beginning to pile up on me. Steve even told me he loved me before he left and I didn't even say it back." The woman said. Her brow furrowed before her eyes began to water with tears, she realized her mistake. She put the bottle down on the floor before placing her head in her hands. Logan reached over and began rubbing her back when her phone went off. She sniffled and whipped her eyes before reaching over to grab it. Steve's name was scrolling across the screen. She sniffled again as she stood up before answering the call.
"Hello?" She asked as she walked around the room.
'Hey. Did you make it home alright?' Steve asked.
"Yeah, I did. Look, I'm sorry about…" Katherine glanced at the clock. "Yesterday. I just… I got overwhelmed with so many things and…"
'I know the mission and then Peggy. I finally figured it out. I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable but remember, I do truly love you.' He said and she smiled, running her fingers through her hair.
"I love you too."
'Now, I need you to come back to D.C. It's an emergency.' Katherine glanced at Logan, who raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of emergency?" She asked.
'Fury is dead. I can't say much else over the phone.'
"I'll be there in an hour; Logan is going to prep the Blackbird for me." She said and Logan nodded before walking out of the room, she was sure he would grab Scott on the way.
'Alright, I'll see you soon. I love you.' He said again and she couldn't help but smile.
"I love you too." They hung up and Katherine made her way up to her room to pack a bag. This was a big deal. Something was going down and Steve was calling one of the only people he knew he could trust. By the time she was done packing her duffle bag and changing her clothes, the Blackbird was ready to go. It only took them about an hour before they landed just outside of D.C as to not draw attention. "Thanks guys, I'll call you." She said as she walked off the jet. Scott and Logan both nodded, telling her to be careful.
XXX
Where am I going? Katherine texted Steve, walking semi-aimlessly around D.C. until she got a text back from him, telling her to go to Triskelion. He had just finished a meeting with Alexander Pierce so he would be meeting her in the lobby when she got there. She glanced at the street names; she was only a few minutes' walk from there. As she walked through the lobby, she nodded at some of the Agents around her. She stepped over to the elevators, waiting for Steve. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, sending the man a text and telling him that she was there. She glanced up when a couple of Agents came to stand on her right. She turned back to her phone, no big deal.
She did notice, after a few minutes when she put her phone away, that the longer she waited the more agents that came to stand around her. They were all men and some were in regular suits while others were in S.T.R.I.K.E uniform. She glanced at them all before turning to one of the first guys that appeared on her right.
"Excuse me, do you have the time?" She asked him.
"Yeah, it's 2:25." He said, looking at his watch.
"Alright, thanks." She said and the man smiled at her before turning back to the elevator. A couple of people came to stand in front of her, now effectively blocking her in. "I think you all should just know what's going to happen if you do this." She said, glancing around at the people around her. A second later, the man to her left swung at her. She ducked and all hell broke loose. They had Tasers (which luckily had no effects with her powers), batons, and their hand to hand combat skills. She was quick about knocking them out, whether it was from a mild-shock or a kick to the head. She jumped at the sound of glass breaking before turning and kicking the last agent in the jaw. She turned and saw Steve lying on the ground with his shield under him. "Steve!" She called to him as she ran over, kneeling down beside him. "Are you okay?" She asked. He panted and grunted as he sat up.
"Yeah, are you?" He asked, brushing his fingers against her cheek where she'd gotten cut from the knife of one of the S.T.R.I.K.E agents.
"Yeah, come on, let's go." She said, helping him up before they ran out of the building. They had managed to make it to the garage and onto Steve's motorcycle before they could close down the garage. As they drove down the bridge, they noticed that all of the defensive features were coming alive. They were locking down the whole bridge. Overhead, one of the jets flew around them, turning towards them and aiming their machine gun.
'Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down.' The pilot said. Steve punched the accelerator. He managed to dodge the bullets before Katherine took the shield off of her back and handing it to him. He threw it, hitting directly in the middle of the turbines, the jet began to lean to the side. Steve looked back at her.
"Drive." He said and she glanced at him.
"I don't want to ever hear you say that I'm crazy." She said as he stood up in the seat. He jumped on the top of the jet as Katherine moved to grab the handlebars. "Only when you're dating Captain America." She muttered to herself as she slid the bike to a stop, watching Steve use his shield to do everything he could to knock the jet out of the air. She nodded her head when he ran over to her. "Not bad." She said before reeving the engine a couple of times. When Steve settled behind her, she spun the tires slightly and took off down the bridge.
